VALYERMO, Calif. (CNS) — Throughout history, monks have been linked to
ink, penning beautiful calligraphy in books and illuminating
manuscripts.

The Benedictine monks at St. Andrew's Abbey in Valyermo, located in
California's Mojave Desert 90 minutes north of Los Angeles, have updated
the ink connection for today's digital age with their new venture,
MonksInk, an online ink and toner business.

Since it launched in 2011, MonksInk.com, an online store offering brand
name and remanufactured ink and toner cartridges, has tripled the number
of its customers, who hail from corporations, dioceses and schools
nationwide. This year, it has more than tripled its sales revenue, with
sales doubling in just the last six months.

Benedictine Father Joseph Brennan, prior of St. Andrew's Abbey, credited
the surge to recently targeted marketing efforts to Catholic dioceses
and schools as well as customer interest in ordering ink and toner
cartridges from a monastery instead of an impersonal big box office
supply store.

"People are intrigued when they hear about it," Father Brennan told The
Tidings, newspaper of the Los Angeles Archdiocese. "They want to support
the abbey and the monastery. So many people across the country have
been educated by Benedictines."

Out of MonksInk's more than 1,000 customers, approximately 220 regularly
purchase their ink and toner supplies through MonksInk, either calling
the toll free customer service line or placing orders on the website,
which features pictures of the monks engaging in their life of prayer
and outreach.

The monastic community was founded in China in 1929 by Benedictines from
the Abbey of Sint Andries Zevenkerken in Bruges, Belgium. The monks
prayed, taught and worked in China until they were expelled by the
communists in 1952. In 1955 the community relocated to Valyermo.

Brother Peter Zhou Bangjiu is the oldest of the abbey's 20 monks, who
range in age from 38 to 87. Brother Peter is the only surviving monk
from the Benedictine community in China. He was imprisoned for his faith
and then reunited with his fellow brothers 25 years later in Valyermo.

The monks pray five times a day for the needs of the world and work in
various ministries that include hosting onsite retreats, providing
spiritual counseling and direction, producing their signature saint and
angel ceramics, managing the abbey's bookstore, and assisting at local
parishes and chaplaincies.

Guests from all walks of life and denominations have visited the abbey
for more than 50 years, making directed or private retreats, sharing
meals with the monks and joining the monks in the monastery chapel -- a
converted stable on the former turkey ranch -- for chanting of the
Divine Office.

"What happens here is a kind of seedbed for inner renewal, and we share
the fruits of that with people who come," explained Father Brennan, who
was an archdiocesan priest for 20 years before receiving permission to
join the Benedictines 19 years ago. Along with his duties at the abbey,
the priest also is a spiritual director at the Cardinal Timothy Manning
House of Prayer for priests in Los Angeles.

"It's really like the old days with the desert fathers and mothers and
the people who come out seeking. We have a lot of people who have been
in the corporate world for years and they come here to find a sense of
peace and redirection," said Father Brennan, adding that the monks also
extend their Benedictine charism of hospitality to their customers.

"The Benedictine motto is 'Nihil amori Christi praeponere -- prefer
nothing to the love of Christ,'" noted the prior. "St. Benedict insists
in his rule that we monks welcome each person, each visitor, as Christ
himself. Hospitality, service and personal attention are very important
to us, and they are echoed in how (monks and lay Benedictine Oblates)
run MonksInk."

"I think the first thing that people tangibly experience is something
very different when they call and inquire, that they're not just a
client," said Father Brennan. "What we hope to do eventually in
responding to orders is include a prayer card that captures something of
our Benedictine community that assures them of our prayers for them and
asks their prayers for our endeavor."

"We strive for excellent customer service, and we try to find cartridges
that are hard to locate," explained Chris McDowell, customer service
supervisor. MonksInk works with several suppliers who have ink and toner
cartridges for most printers, fax and copy machines in a wide range of
brands, including top sellers such as Hewett Packard, Canon and Epson.

Customers get an email confirming their order has been placed with
MonksInk, and delivery is swift, sometimes the next day, noted McDowell.
She added that customers have saved up to 60 percent by ordering
remanufactured cartridges or generics. In addition, brand name items are
also sold at a discount, and shipping is set at a flat rate of $5.95
with orders over $75 receiving free shipping in the 48 contiguous
states.

Occasionally, Benedictine Father Carlos Lopez, who works in ceramics
customer service down the hall in the monastery's arts and crafts
building, has pitched in to help with MonksInk phone orders.

Information about the monastery on the MonksInk website, he said, has
helped reverse a long-running deficit for the ceramics, which are now
turning a profit for the first time in at least 20 years. "It's been
really good riding on the coattails of MonksInk," said the monk.
"I hope MonksInk will be a great help for the overall ministries of the
abbey," added Father Brennan. "Our next big project is to build monastic
housing, which we desperately need. If this could help us launch that
program, it would be wonderful."
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Editor's Note: For more information, phone MonksInk toll free at (888)
454-5411; email info@monks-ink.com; or visit www.MonksInk.com.